Self-custody is foundational to bitcoin's value with Zack Shapiro | The Last Free Americans

Zack Shapiro is the head of legal and policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and a key architect behind the Peer-to-Peer Rights Fund. He’s spent years on the frontlines where law, technology, and human freedom intersect—helping lawmakers and judges understand what it means to hold value in the digital age. In this episode, Zack joins The Bitcoin Frontier to break down why self-custody is foundational to bitcoin’s value, how the Clarity Act could define financial freedom for a generation, and why the right to hold your own money might be the most American right of all.

We dig into the constitutional roots of property rights, how U.S. law is being stretched to fit a peer-to-peer world, and why the fight for non-custodial software developers will determine the future of bitcoin in America.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show with your friends and family

→ Send us an email: podcast@unchained.com

→ Learn more about Unchained: https://unchained.com/?utm_source=you...

→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 – Intro & the mission behind The Last Free Americans series

2:00 – What self-custody really means and why it’s the foundation of bitcoin’s value